60 years later, ‘Indication’ remains one of The Zombies’ most underrated masterpieces
Any British invasion band in the 1960s would have had its work cut out for it, competing with the inexplicable phenomenon sparked by bands like The Beatles and the music that quite literally set the standard for modern rock. The Zombies, for instance, were up there with those who experimented in revolutionary ways, though even they struggled to earn the credit they deserved.
The Zombies are mostly celebrated today for their enduring hit, ‘Time of the Season’, from their magnum opus, Odessey and Oracle. Written in 1967, the record wasn’t exactly a commercial success in the US, with their signature track only becoming a major Billboard hit a couple of years later, when it peaked at number three in the summer of 1969.
While writing the track, Rod Argent recalled “thinking it sounded very commercial”, with a melody that was reminiscent of another song he loved at the time: George Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’. However, broader appeal aside, the record was a victim of circumstance, issued just after the band had called it quits and three years after their last chart hits, ‘She’s Not There’ and ‘Tell Her No’.
But Odessey and Oracle was, on its own, a major musical triumph, encompassing a range of diverse sounds and styles and experimenting in ways that have long since defined ’60s psychedelia and the broader British invasion movement. Much of this was informed by the major players across the local scene itself (Argent later told People that the record is “just full of Mellotron” because of The Beatles at Abbey Road).
But The Zombies were anything but replicas, laying the groundwork for such groundbreaking material years earlier, with their masterful forward-thinking single, ‘Indication’. Following the commercial flop of singles ‘Remember You’ and ‘Just Out of Reach’ in 1966, ‘Indication’ was a modest local hit in the summer period of the same year, and a prelude to everything the band would achieve musically on Odessey and Oracle.
After all, listening today, it’s easy to conclude that ‘Indication’ epitomises everything great about The Zombies, from their signature infectious melodies to their inexplicable innovation in the use of instruments like the bass guitar, the organ and the harpsichord. It’s a quintessential psychedelia track and the perfect standalone for why The Zombies were more than just a throwaway band that failed to gain traction.
After all, the single, and the song on its flip side, ‘How We Were Before’, failed to chart in both the US and UK, probably because people had already flocked to the likes of the Fab Four and The Rolling Stones by that point, but also because, despite being musically accomplished, it just couldn’t find its place among other chart-worthy singles on heavy radio rotation.
But it still remains one of the most significant releases of the entire decade, owed partially to its progressiveness but also to everything it symbolised at the time. During a time when everybody was effectively attempting to achieve the same thing, ‘Indication’ dared to be different, with at times conflicting dynamics that almost appear chaotic and not at all the kind of arrangement that was attempting to pander to any sort of expectations.
Unlike ‘How We Were Before’, it also doesn’t appear that dated, serving as a reminder of all the reasons why The Zombies always had what it took to be one of those bands; they were just drowned out at the time, and let down by poor promotion and a lack of record label backing. However, that’s ultimately neither here nor there when you look at all the other ways they remain one of the most significant bands in history, with music that felt beyond its years and an innovative streak that many musicians are still attempting to imitate today.
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